Can a clone/tribute be copyrighted???

[EZ Nova]

Was talking with a friend who was looking at doing a tribute car. He is afraid to now because he was told that the emblems and decals are copyrighted? He said he contacted a shop that HAS a clone to see about the emblems and he was told that he had to sign a copyright contract not to reproduce the emblems and not to claim the car is a real car and not a clone.

Has anyone heard of this? Is this the case with clone and tributes? IF so, I thought Yenko or Motion cars would be copyrighted as there the big $$$$ cars.

Thanks.

[Keith Seymore]

I know in talking to Steve Pasteiner that they were not able to call their C5 conversions a "Corvette", due to licensing concerns with GM. However, if an individual were to purchase their car and then add the nameplates themselves that is a different story.

Similarly I was just asked the other day about reproducing emblems; that situation sounds similar to what you have mentioned here, in that the manufacturer is asking for documentation/permissions before they will produce the part.

Bottom line: I don't know anything about this from an authoritative standpoint, but my observations as a long time hobbyist:

a) Creating a clone or tribute of a GTO/SS is really no different than what has been going on for years and years. People buy the already made emblems or stickers and stick them on.

b) Creating a "one off" tribute of a unique styling or individual show car: I would suggest modifying the emblems or naming slightly to avoid copyright or infringement discussions.

I hope that helps. It sounded much more insightful and conclusive in my head.

K

[Keith Seymore]

For GM specifically:

https://www.gm.com/licensing.html

Here is the thread from yesterday on another forum that generated the discussion:

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/showthread.php?p=8953582#post8953582

K